Machine for folding tags



UNITED STATES PATENT Criuce.

JAMES B. CLARK, OF PLANTSVILLE, CONNECTICUT.

MACHlNE FOR FOLDING TAGS.

Specification.tbrming part of Letters Patent No. 40,019, dated September22, 1863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES B. CLARK, of Plantsville, in the county ofHartford and State ofConnecticut, have invented a new and ImprovedMachinefor FoldingTags; and Ido hereby declare 4that the following is afull, clear, and exact description ofthe same, reference being had tothe accompanying drawings, making a part of this specification, inwhich- AFigure 1 is a-longitudinal vertical section of my invention,taken in the line a: x, Fig. 2; Fig. 2, a pla-n or top view of the same;Fig.3, a diminished plan or top view of a portion of the same; Fig. 4, adetached view of a tag.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in the severalfigures.

This invention relates to a new and improved machine for foldin g theends ot' tags, in which folded ends the metal eyelets are tted toreceive the strings which secure the tags to the articles designed toreceive them.

The invention consists in the employment or use of a stationaryfolding-plate in connection with movable folding-plates, the latterbeing attached to slides, and all arranged in such a manner as to effectthe desired work in a perfect and expeditious manner.

To enable those skilled in the art to fully understand and construct myinvention, I will proceed to describe it.

A represents a horizontal bed-piece, at each side of which there isattached a guide, a. These guides extend nearly the whole length of thebed-piece, and between these guides there is fitted a plate, B, to theupper surface 'of which two arms, C C, are secured by pivots b, on whichthe arms are allowed to work freely. To the back end of each of thesearms C there is attached a vertical pin, c, and these pins c are fittedin slots d d in a plate, D, which rests on the plate B, and is allowedto slide freely thereon. The plate D has a hole, e, made centrally init, in which hole the lower end of ahandle, E, is fitted loosely, saidhan dle having a tenon, j', at its'lower end to fit in the plate D, andalso into a hole, g, in the plate B when necessary. The tenonj'is shownfitted in both plates in Fig. l. The slots d d are -slightly curved attheir front parts, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

To the front end of each arm C there is attached a metal plate, F, theshape of which is shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. These plates areattached to the under sides ofthe arms C, and they project inward towardeach other, their outer edges being slightly rounded, and their innerends slight-ly curved upward.

To the front end of the plate D, at its center there is attached a metalplate, G, which is bent downward so as to be in contact or nearly incontact with the upper surface of the plate B between the arms C C. Thisplate G has its front edge parallel with the front edge of the plate D,the former having its corners slightly rounded.

0n the front edge of the bed piece vA there is attached transversely astrip, h, on which a metal plate, H, is secured, of rectangular form.This plate H is iitted in a recess at the center ofthe strip h, and thecoi ners of said plate, at its inner end, are bent alittle downward,asindicated by the shading at M in Fig. 2. l)i rectly over the plate Hthere is secured another plate, I, which is considerably longer than theplate H, and has its central part, at its inner edge, notched in Vform,as shown at jj, to expose the cornersi t' of the plate H, as shownclearly in lfig. 2. In consequence of having the plate H fitted in arecess in the strip h, a space is allowed between the plates H and I toadmit ofthe tag being passed between them.

The operation is as follows: At the comA lnencement of the work the twoplates B D are at the end of the bed-piece A opposite to that where theplates I-I I are attached, and the tenon j' of the handle E is tted inboth of said plates, as shown in Fig. 1. The tag J is then insertedbetween the plates H and I, and is made to project a little beyond theinner edge of the plate H. The operator then7 by means of the handle E,shoves forward the two plates B D until B comes in contact with h, andthe plates F catch underneath the corners ofthe tag J and fold them overone side of the V- shaped notches j j ofthe plate I, as shown in red inFig. 2, the arms C C being kept dis.

will force the folding-plates F F toward each other and directly overthe central part of the plate I, and the plate Gr then folds over theend ofthe tag' upon the plates F F, (see Ffg 3) and the work isfinished. The folds produced by the plates F are designated by a a inFig. 4, and the fold produced by the plate G isdesignated by b. The twoplates B D are then drawn back, the folded tag released and removed, andthe operation repeated as before.

I would remark that the plate B has two holes made in it for thereception of the tenon j' of the handle E. The tenonf, when the twoplates B D are first moved,isin the back hole, g, so that the front edgeof the plate, will be considerablyin advance ot' the upper plate, D butafter the first folds are made and the tenon fis raised out ofthe holeg, in order to admit of tlic plate D being shoved forward to completethe first folds, a a', and to form the Jfold b the tenon j' at thecompletion ot' this movement of plate D is tted in the forward hole, g',so that both plates B D may be drawn back vsimultaneously and the tagwith them. the tag being released by raising the tenon f from the fronthole, g', and drawing,` back the plate D after the plate B is drawnfully back.

Having thus described my invention,what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

The stationary folding-plates II I, in combination with the movablefolding-plates F F G, the plates F being attached to pivoted arms C on asliding plate, B, and the plate Gr attached to a'sliding plate, D, thearms C being operated by the slots d and pins c, when the plate D ismoved alone, and all arranged to operate substantially as and for thepnrpose herein set foi-th.

JAMES B. CLARK.

W ilnesses:

D. W. CRAFTS, L. A. DAWSON.

